Article about smuggler with nuclear warhead blueprints

This is a discussion on Article about smuggler with nuclear warhead blueprints within the A Brief History of Cprogramming.com forums, part of the Community Boards category; http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008...clear.pakistan
For some reason when I read this article I get a very large urge to watch The Bourne Identity ...

Building a bomb isnt difficult. Its enriching the uranium o rplutonium that proves the challenge, since anything less than 95&#37; pure is basically worthless. Even this though can be done with off the shelf components if you know how. The trick to controllign proliferation is to keep the people capable of figuring it out gainfully employed in more productive research.

Until you can build a working general purpose reprogrammable computer out of basic components from radio shack, you are not fit to call yourself a programmer in my presence. This is cwhizard, signing off.

I beg to differ. With the dumbing down of the education system across the planet I seriously doubt anyone will 'just' figure out the physics needed to build a nuclear bomb. It's a complex and complicated process and everything must be spot on or it won't work. Usually this requires special facilities which are far beyond the means of anything civilians can acquire.

The way to control proliferation is to monitor the sales of equipment known to be used in the process. Since these are only made by a handful of companies I would say the situation is being well monitored. We probably should fear unstable countries acquiring the technology and the means more than anything at this point.

I was thinking more in terms of people in power with access to scientists. Ever since the Pakistan and India incident, that I fear the possibility. Along with that, men like Abdul Khan, which may emerge at any time for no reason whatsoever other than the lure of money (or worse) are the biggest threat.

I do agree controlling the current equipment and uranium world stocks has been so far a good measure... It at least allow us to know who and when. But It can't stop an after the fact event such as Iran having had access to inordinate amounts of uranium and the equipment necessary for its enrichment.

What worries me is international cooperation in the face of a potencial nuclear threat such as Iran. Will the now vociferous countries, match with action if push comes to shove? After Iraq I doubt we will get a serious commitment unless this time the homework by everyone involved is well done and "proof" is not just a Because We Say So and some aerial photos of... something no one really can tell. Iran is not Iraq. There won't be marines fighting at the sound of Trash metal and journalists happily camping on top of tanks. Iran is also much, much, bigger than its borders...

Regardless, they already know how. Some years ago even that we didn't want to let go. We are dangerously broadening our tolerance. 50 years...

The process of building the bomb is a lot less complicated than you think. As I said, the enrichment process is the difficult part. After that its a matter of high school physics to get a detonation. The seperation of U-235 from U-238 is... non-trivial, but doable. It takes about 500 lbs of natural metallic uranium to yield enough 235 for one fission core.

Hell, I'd do it for the right price, after all, its not like Im benefitting from the stability of western society. Born poor, living poor, probably die poor. What's my motivation to be a good citizen again?

Until you can build a working general purpose reprogrammable computer out of basic components from radio shack, you are not fit to call yourself a programmer in my presence. This is cwhizard, signing off.

Licensee also agrees that Licensee will not use the Apple Software for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons.

A fundamental question to which the answer is probably today what it was 4,000 years ago. In that sense our societies haven't changed much. We only improved lifestyle and even that is not guaranteed to be that true if we look outside of health care.

There's still everyone else and a few. The few elite don't give a damn and gather everything to themselves in previously unheard of levels of richness and ever widening the gap between the poor and the rich. The everyone else fights like animals for the bone that may or may not move them upwards.

As a society we are still as individualists as we always were, if not more. We are not reaching some high, exploring new horizons and getting to know each other, nah. In my rather sad (I admit) view of the world we are going down. Fast.

You can measure the degradation of a society by how well those who make a living of entertaining that society are rewarded and how much that society resorts to entertainment. I feel we are parading our last days in a Roman arena watching lions kill human beings.

Until you can build a working general purpose reprogrammable computer out of basic components from radio shack, you are not fit to call yourself a programmer in my presence. This is cwhizard, signing off.

Hell, I'd do it for the right price, after all, its not like Im benefitting from the stability of western society. Born poor, living poor, probably die poor. What's my motivation to be a good citizen again?

That's probably the most selfish thing I've ever heard. So because your life is dull and sucks you would ruin everyone else's who actually may enjoy theirs? So because your not happy you are saying no one deserves to be happy? Nice.

I find that if you always want to see the crap in life you will. There is always something negative to be found and if you always look for it you are sure to find it.

That's probably the most selfish thing I've ever heard. So because your life is dull and sucks you would ruin everyone else's who actually may enjoy theirs? So because your not happy you are saying no one deserves to be happy? Nice.

Yeah, I was surprised to see abachler say that. If you're poor in America, it's your fault. My inlaws came here with nothing, got no welfare, couldn't speak the language, but worked hard and made it. Some made it quite well.

If you're poor in America, it's your fault. My inlaws came here with nothing, got no welfare, couldn't speak the language, but worked hard and made it. Some made it quite well.

Sure, working hard and earning money is definitely a good thing. The thing is that most people that get rich are good at business; good at business generally means a professional tightass. Thats fair as far as business goes, but theres nothing more annoying than a tightass friend. I dont know if I'll ever get rich as I'm too careless with money. Most of the richest friends I have are so annoyingly tight I cant share anything w/o demanding some form or payment/debt. Once I successfully identify a tightass its good fun to read their brain as they try and weasle every situation to produce some marginal gain. Then I find ways to wind them up; good fun